Trash receptacle



March 24, 1970 KELLEY 3,502,238

TRASH RECEPTACLE Filed Sent. 27. 1968 FIGI V II'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT EOBEETA. KELLEY United States Patent 3,502,238 TRASH RECEPTAQLE Robert A.Kelley, 216 W. 10th St., Tifton, Ga. 31794 Filed Sept. 27, 1968, Ser.No. 763,216 Int. Cl. B65d 25/16 US. Cl. 220-63 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE The disposable liner bag for a trash receptacle is held inmouth-open position within the receptacle by means of an open frame towhich the liner mouth is clipped. The frame is nested within the top ofthe receptacle to rest upon a ledge formation and is removable to leavethe liner remaining in the receptacle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The household use of trash receptacleswithin which a removable bag liner is fitted has become quitecommonplace inasmuch as this offers a convenient way to handle trash.Usually, however, the mouth of the bag liner is rolled back over theedge of the trash receptacle so as to maintain the liner in openposition and although this is an entirely satisfactory arrangement, itdoes interfere with the proper positioning of the receptacle cover and,moreover, presents a somewhat unsightly appearance.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is concerned with atrash receptacle wherein the bag liner is held in mouth-open position bymeans of a separate and removable frame assembly so that theframeassembly and the bag may be nested wholly within the trash receptacle toallow the cover to be positioned properly thereon. The bag mouth isclipped to the frame and the frame is of relatively great verticalheight so as to allow the mouth of the bag to position itself verticallytherewithin so that the bag bottom rests squarely upon the bottom wallof the receptacle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is a perspective viewshowing an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken through the assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a portion of the section of FIG. 2;and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a further handle arrangementthat permits the grasping and carrying of two receptacles by anindividual in one hand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference at this time moreparticularly to FIG. 1, the reference character indicates in general thetrash receptacle which is provided with a removable cover indicated bythe reference character 12. For the sanitary handling of trash, theinterior of the receptacle 10 is provided with a bag-like liner 14 andin order to hold the liner bag mouth in open position within thereceptacle, a removable frame assembly indicated generally by thereference character 16 is provided, same having associated therewith aseries of clip members 18.

In the particular embodiment shown, the receptacle 10 is of generallyrectangular configuration in cross section, having the opposite sidewalls 20 and 22 and end walls 24, all joined by the bottom wall 26 todefine the trashreceiving space within the interior of the receptacle.As may be seen more clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3, the inner surface 28 ofthe side wall portions of the receptacle adjacent the upper edge 30thereof is outwardly stepped as indicated by the reference character 32to present a circumscribing ledge 34 which is adapted to receive thepreviously mentioned frame assembly 16. The frame assembly is of openrectangular form corresponding in general to the cross sectional shapeof the receptacle 10 but is somewhat smaller than the dimensionsdictated by the stepped wall portions 32 so as to leave a gap asindicated by the reference character 36 to allow for the recep tion ofthe U-shaped clips 18 which are utilized to hold the liner bag inmouth-open position. At the same time, the illustrative embodiment ofthe invention will be seen to employ an interior dimension for the frameassembly 16 such that the inner surface 40 thereof effects substantiallya continuation of the inner surface 28 of the receptacle body lyingbelow the ledge 34 so as to present a generally smooth surface whichdoes not interfere with the normal contours of the liner bag 14. At thelower portion of the frame 16, there is an outwardly directed flange 43formed thereabout that prevents lateral shifting of the frame 16 as itrests on the ledge 34.

The frame assembly 16 may simply take the form of a rectangular integralconstruction fabricated from synthetic resinous material, or the like,and it -is preferred that the individual limbs 42 forming the frame beof substantial vertical width or height and that the clips 18 becorrespondingly elongate so as to allow the liner 14 to drift verticallyand thereby to accommodate itself to the contour required while stillretaining a clipping action by the members 18. In this way, the bottomof liner 14 will always rest upon the bottom wall 26 with a wide rangeof liner sizes, and the capacity of the trash receptacle may beincreased considerably over and above the capacity of the liner.

The upper rim portion 44 of the receptacle 10 above the ledge formation34 is flared outwardly slightly to accommodate for the reduced wallthickness effected by the ledge formation 34 and also to provide aninwardly beveled upper edge so that the cover member 12 may be snapfitted over this edge as indicated by the reference character 46 in FIG.3.

Opposite sides 48 and 50 of the rim formation may be provided with handhole openings 52 and the corresponding limbs 42 of the frame assemblyare provided with registering hand hole openings 54 so that a securegrip may be obtained on the receptacle assembly when desired.

A further form of handle arrangement is shown in FIG. 4 wherein thehandles 60 are positioned exteriorly of the opposite sides 48 and 50 andare of such size to permit an individual to readily grasp and carry twosuch receptacles 10 when positioned in side by side arrangement as shownin FIG. 4.

In use, the liner 14 may be lowered into the receptacle 10, with theframe assembly 16 resting upon the ledge formation 34. The proper heightof the liner 14 is then determined with its bottom flush against thebottom of receptacle 10. The upper portion of the liner 14 may bereadily clipped to frame 16. During subsequent filling of the liner 14,it may readily shift at its mouth in a vertical direction to accommodatefor the internal contours of the receptacle, this action being allowedfor the clip elements 38 which only lightly engage the bag mouth but doso with sufficient force to retain the same in open position. Bags ingeneral use today vary in height and opening size but by the use of theframe and clip arrangement such variation in sizes do not prevent theiruse as a bag having a smaller opening than the frame may be clipped toonly three sides of the frame and still be effective. The function ofthe clamps is to hold the mouth of the bag open and to provide supportfor the bag or liner 14 vertically. When full, or when it is desired toplace the trash for collection, the cover 12 may be removed whereafterthe cover 12 may be replaced and the entire assembly less the frame andclips placed for trash collection.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications andchanges may be made and the use of equivalents may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A trash receptacle comprising, in combination:

a substantially rigid container having upstanding side wall portions anda bottom, the inner surfaces of said side wall portions adjacent theupper edge of the container being outwardly stepped to define a ledge,

a substantially rigid frame removably supported on said ledge,

clip means for removably securing the open top of a bag-like linerwithin the confines of said frame,

and a cover for said container.

2. The trash receptacle according to claim 1 wherein the upper wallportion of said container above said ledge is exteriorly taperedoutwardly to present a sharp outer edge for engagement with said cover.

3. The trash receptacle according to claim 1 wherein said frame is ofclosed form dimensioned to provide an 4 inner surface effecting a smoothcontinuation of the inner Surface of the container below said ledge.

4. The trash receptacle according to claim 3 wherein said frame iscomprised of side portions of substantial height, said clip meanscomprising a plurality of U-shaped clips of a length substantially equalto the height of said frame.

5. The trash receptacle according to claim 4 wherein said frame is ofexterior dimensions slightly smaller than the interior dimensions ofsaid container above said ledge to provide a gap between said frame andsaid container for receiving said clips.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,612,986 1/1927 Reynolds 220632,726,517 12/1955 Pruett. 3,377,017 4/1968 Rosenfield 220-6O X FOREIGNPATENTS 662,970 3/1929 France.

DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner J. R. GARRETT, Assistant Examiner

